Shia Reignites Plagiarism Dispute with Film Idea
In the latest round of his dispute over plagiarism allegations, Shia LaBeouf took to Twitter Wednesday to post a copy of what appears to be a cease and desist letter sent by attorney Michael Kemp, the apparent legal counsel representing cartoonist/screenwriter Daniel Clowes.
Plagiarism allegations originally arose after LaBeouf posted a short film called Howard Cantour on the website HowardCantour.com and it was quickly discovered that the movie contained scene-for-scene similarities to the 2007 comic Justin M. Damiano, written by Clowes.
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The 27-year-old Transformers star later addressed the allegation on Twitter, explaining that he had "neglected to follow proper accreditation" in regard to Howard Cantour. LaBeouf also literally took to the skies to send a New Year's Day message in the wake of the the plagiarism allegations, tweeting a photo of skywriting that read: "I am sorry Daniel Clowes."
But the latest cease and desist letter posted by LaBeouf on his Twitter is responding to another tweet in which the actor includes a photo of a storyboard he says is for a new short film he's working on titled Daniel Boring, which is nearly identical to Clowes' story David Boring.
cease pic.twitter.com/eoclLlPTDX
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) January 8, 2014RELATED: Shia LaBeouf Addresses Plagiarism Allegations
In his tweet of the storyboard photo, LaBeouf describes his new project as "Fassbinder meets half-baked Nabokov on Gilligan's Island." He also includes a rant alleging that "now our stories are owned for profit."
Storyboard for my next short "Daniel Boring" its like Fassbinder meets half-baked Nabokov on Gilligan's Island pic.twitter.com/sarRnqYws4
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) January 8, 2014In the cease and desist letter, Kemp notes the obvious similarity of Daniel Boring to the Clowes comic and states that "LaBeouf must immediately take down this tweet."